|
What is Japan's Design for the Environment?
Law for the Promotion of Effective
Utilization of Resources
Enforcement Order
Ministerial Ordinances
Japan has lead the effort to develop a sustainable
society based on the
3Rs of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. This approach is known as
Design for the Environment (DfE). It focuses on making continuous,
incremental changes in the design of products in order to reduce the
quantity of resources needed for their manufacture (at the front-end)
and make discarded products easier to reuse and recycle (at
end-of-life).
DfE
extends Japan's
successful "total quality improvement" methodology into environmental
issues. The starting point of deliberations is
what is technologically possible, with manufacturers having more
influence in determining the kinds of changes and improvements that are
made, and government serving to hold manufacturers accountable to the
evolving standards for the industry. This is a different approach from
that taken by the European Union.
|
In
April 2001, the Law for the Promotion of Effective
Utilization of Resources
made DfE mandatory for Japanese manufacturers, retailers,
purchasers and consumers. It amended the
Resource Recycling Promotion Law of 1991 which had been
voluntary.
Seven basic categories are regulated by the law: |
| |
Designated
resources-saving
industries should reduce the quantity of manufacturing by-products
they generate |
| |
Designated
resources-reutilizing industries
should reuse waste products as manufacturing
feedstock |
| |
Specified
resources-saved
products should reduce the volume of discarded
products at end-of-life |
| |
Specified
resources-reutilized products
should be
easy to recycle at end-of-life |
| |
Specified
labeled products
should be easy to
recycle for sorted collection because they are labeled |
| |
Specified
resources-reconverted products
should be recycled at end-of-life through "voluntary"
manufacturer take-back programs |
| |
Specified
by-products
of industry should be be recycled as construction materials
|
|
The
Enforcement Order lists the
industries, products and by-products that must comply with the
law and specifies the business size threshold for enforcement
(smaller businesses are exempt): |
| |
Table 1: Resources-Saving
Industries (there are five)
Pulp, paper and
chemical manufacturers should reduce quantity
of sludge they produce; iron & steel making and copper smelting
manufacturers should reduce quantity of slag; auto manufacturers should reduce
waste metal & molding sand |
| |
Table 2: Resources-Reutilizing Industries
(there are five)
Paper manufacturers should utilize waste paper as feedstock;
PVC manufacturers should utilize used PVC pipes/fittings as
feedstock; glass
container manufacturers should utilize cullet (broken glass) as
feedstock; copy machine
manufacturers should reuse certain parts; construction firms should
utilize waste soil, concrete lump and asphalt-concrete
lump in new construction
|
| |
Table 3: Resources-Saved
Products
(there are nineteen)
Automobiles; PCs, TVs and game machines; refrigerators, stoves,
microwaves, washers, dryers and water heaters; office desks,
swivel chairs, storage furniture and shelving
Manufacturers should use
durable materials & make repairable products to extend product
life and use smaller & lighter-weight parts to reduce volume at
end-of-life |
| |
Table 4: Resources-Reutilized Products
(there are fifty)
Power tools & power supplies, guide & emergency lights, fire &
security alarms; automobiles; electrically-driven bicycles &
wheelchairs; PCs, printers, copiers, faxes; TVs, video cameras,
cordless phones & radios, headphone stereos and game machines;
vacuums, battery-powered shavers & toothbrushes and electric
toys; blood pressure & infusion instruments, electric
therapeutic devices, massagers & bubble generators;
refrigerators, stoves, microwaves, washers, dryers, water
heaters and unit air conditioners; office desks, swivel chairs,
storage furniture and shelving; bathroom units and system
kitchens
Manufacturers should use non-toxic materials that are
recyclable, reduce number of materials and components, design
product for easy disassembly without screws or damaging reusable
parts, attach batteries without
soldering, and label plastics for recycling |
| |
Table 5: Labeled Products
(there are seven)
Sealed storage
batteries;
PVC construction materials; steel & aluminum cans for beverages
& liquors; paper or plastic containers for beverages, soy sauce, liquors, cigarettes, salt and products
regulated by METI/industry, MOF/finance, MHLW/health or MAFF/agriculture
Products should be labeled for
separate collection recycling |
| |
Table 6: Resources-Reconverted Products
(there are two)
Sealed storage batteries; PCs & monitors
Manufacturers should voluntarily take-back and process used
products to obtain reusable parts & recyclable materials |
| |
Table 7: Specified By-Products
(there are two)
Power plants should process coal ash for use in mortar/concrete; construction
firms
should classify & store waste soil for use at other construction
sites; construction firms should prepare & transport concrete lump, asphalt-concrete lump
and scrap lumber for processing at a recycling facility |
| |
Table 8:
Resources-Reconverted
Products
(these twenty-nine
products use sealed storage batteries)
Power tools & power supplies, guide & emergency lights, fire &
security alarms; electrically-driven bicycles & wheelchairs;
PCs, printers, faxes; TVs, video cameras, cordless phones &
radios and headphone stereos; vacuums, electric shavers &
toothbrushes and electric toys; blood pressure & infusion
instruments, electric therapeutic devices, massagers & bubble
generators
Manufacturers should voluntarily take-back used sealed storage
batteries and deliver them to the battery manufacturer for
processing |
|
There are approximately sixty-two
Ministerial Ordinances addressed to
the manufacturers of specific
products. Numbering of the ordinances is irregular because many
are issued jointly by government ministries:
METI/industry,
MLIT/transport, MAFF/agriculture, MOF/finance, MHLW/health and
ENV/environment.
|
|
Each
ordinance sets forth the judgment criteria
or DfE requirements for a single category: resources-saved,
resources-reutilized, resources-reconverted, etc. A single
product may be regulated by multiple ordinances. For example:
|
| |
Autos have DfE requirements as resource-saving industries to reduce waste
metal/molding sand in manufacturing, as
resources-saved
products to extend product life/reduce product volume,
and as resources-reutilized products to make the product
easier to recycle at end-of-life |
| |
TVs,
microwaves, refrigerators,
washers, dryers & A/C units have DfE requirements as
resources-saved
products to extend product life/ reduce product volume, and as
resources-reutilized products to make the product easier
to recycle at end-of-life |
| |
PCs have DfE requirements as
resources-saved
products to extend product life/reduce product volume,
as resources-reutilized products to make the product
easier to recycle at end-of-life, and as
resources-reconverted products to provide manufacturer take-back
/processing of used products |
| |
Copiers have DfE requirements as
resources-reutilizing industries
to reuse certain parts in manufacturing, and as resources-reutilized products to make
the product easier to recycle at end-of-life |
| |
Sealed storage batteries have DfE
requirements as
labeled products to carry the designated logo, and as
resources-reconverted products to provide manufacturer take-back/processing of used
batteries |
| |
Products using sealed storage batteries
have DfE requirements as as
resources-reutilized products to make batteries easier to
remove for recycling, and as resources-reconverted products
to take-back used batteries for processing by the battery
manufacturer |
|
Japan RoHS was instituted In
April 2006 when the Ministerial Ordinances were amended to require
labeling of six hazardous substances in seven products covered
by
EU RoHS and to extend DfE requirements to the importers of these
products. |
|
The
framework for implementation is provided in the Law: |
|
|
Judgment
Criteria: relevant government minister issues specific
DfE objectives for designated industries/products in a
Ministerial Ordinance |
|
|
Plan: manufacturer outlines past performance on the criteria,
proposed changes being made to improve performance, and expected
benefits of the change |
|
|
Advice:
government minister issues written opinion to manufacturer whose
plan is "substantially insufficient" |
|
|
Announcement:
government minister publishes name of manufacturer that fails to
follow "advice" |
|
|
Appeal: relevant industry council
issues opinion as to whether manufacturer has a justifiable reason for not
following advice |
|
|
Directive:
government minister orders manufacturer to follow advice |
|
|
Inspection:
government minister makes on-the-spot inspection of
manufacturer's
facilities/books/papers or requires manufacturer to submit additional
information |
|
|
Fine: ¥500,000 (about $5,575) for
disobeying directive
¥200,000 (about $2,230) for failing to submit a plan or report |
The
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
(METI) has jurisdiction over electrical & electronic products and
automobiles. The Industrial Structure Council handles business entity
appeals for METI.
This summary of
Design for Environment (DfE) in Japan is designed to provide you
with an accurate, easy-to-understand overview of the topic and
does not
constitute legal advice. The actual standard in the original language
should be reviewed and used for all business, legal, and product
compliance purposes.
Back to Tutorial Index
Copyright © 2009 -- All Rights
Reserved
RSJ
Technical Consulting
PO Box 867705, Plano, Texas 75086 |
